Images of the Sky Surfer and multirotor drones
Communist rebels on Monday admitted holding 5 people who were reported abducted by the Philippine military in the restive southern region of Mindanao.
Daniel Ibarra, a spokesman for the New People’s Army, said the five men were captured May 30 in the village of New Leyte in Compostela Valley’s Maco town after they had been caught flying drones to survey the town.
The Eastern Mindanao Command earlier said that six forestry surveyors - Kendrik Wong, Nico Lasaca, Chris Favila, Matthew Cua, Jonas Loredo and Tim Sabina - were abducted by gunmen, but the NPA said only five people were taken in custody by the rebels and are being interrogated.
Ibarra identified the captives as Ken Wong, Chrisandro Favela, Tim Sabino, Nico Lasaca and their driver Jonas Loredo. He said all, but Loredo are working for the private Skyeye UAV Services (Skyeye, Inc.) based in Quezon City. The team is headed by its manager Wong.
He said the 5 men were arrested in “culpable violation of the policy of the People’s Democratic Government for bringing in of surveillance gadgets, for undertaking reconnaissance of base guerrillas of the New People’s Army and, thus, abetting the enemy’s counter-revolutionary campaign against the revolutionary forces and environmental plunder.”
Ibarra said they also seized one Sky Surfer drone and two units of multi-rotor drones, including two laptops and a GPS navigation equipment from the men, who arrived in Maco town on May 28. He said the men admitted that they were hired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to conduct an aerial survey and mapping in Maco for the government’s reforestation program.
The men also told the rebels that they started the survey last year in Bislig town in Surigao del Sur; Kapalong town in Davao del Norte; Monkayo and Montevista towns in Compostela Valley; Polomolok town in South Cotabato; - all in southern Philippines, and Tacloban City in Leyte province; Panay Island in central Philippines; and Appari town in Cagayan province in northern Philippines.
Ibarra said the aerial survey and aerial reconnaissance is merely a pretext to intensify “imperialist” mining plunder and counter-revolutionary intelligence in southern Mindanao. “The motives of Skyeye’s reconnaissance are suspicious, considering that Maco town is not a hotspot for logging as its forests are largely denuded and its mountains mainly mineral-rich. “
“It would appear that Skyeye is mainly protecting, if not linked to big mining operations in Maco and mountain boundaries of Pantukan and Mabini, areas under the control of foreign large scale mining concessionaires Apex Mining and St. Augustine Mining Corporation. The DENR’s UAV use is far from protecting the environment, but is mainly to defend the interest of the big mining companies that are guilty of destroying and plundering our environment,” Ibarra said.
He said U.S. troops deployed in Mindanao also used drones in the past to aid Filipino soldiers in their operations against the NPA in Compostela Valley and Davao City.
“The NPA denounced the use of drones and other reconnaissance devices that are ultimately indiscriminate weapons of mass genocide and civilian destruction. The UAVs are not only surveillance gadgets, but are also weapons for aerial attacks and strikes, designed and used by U.S. imperialism,” Ibarra said, citing drones used by American military forces and Central Intelligence Agency such as the Predator and Reaper, which have carried out assassinations and massacres in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa that killed thousands of innocent civilians.
Ibarra said they will release the prisoners only if Skyeye UAV Services stops all its surveillance and intelligence activities in areas where NPA rebels are actively operating.
“The NPA will release the captive drone personnel on condition that the Skyeye will stop its surveillance and intelligence activities in the areas of People’s Democratic Government. The NPA, likewise, urges civilian entities to desist from pursuing defense of large-scale mining and environmental plunder, and to cease performing counter-revolutionary intelligence activities against the revolutionary movement,” he said.
There was no immediate statement from Skyeye UAV Services owned by Matthew Cua and Carlos Ezekiel.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/06/philippine-rebels-hold-5-missing.html
It's clear that the commies are absolutely paranoid about any drone activity conducted anywhere near areas under their influence/control.
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